Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Libby Kelting is a self-proclaimed fashionista with a flair for the historical. She’s the kind of girl who loves Jane Austen novels and swoons for Mr. Darcy—but always looks good doing it. She’s never really found a way to combine her dual passions until she becomes an intern at Camden Harbor, Maine’s Oldest Living History Museum. As the Education and Interpretation Intern, it’s Libby’s job to help run the Girls of Long Ago Camp, where she basically gets to cook and make crafts all day with younger girls as if they were really in 1791. The only thing that makes this even better is that Libby gets to do all this in period dress. But Camden Harbor isn’t turning out to be the glamorous historical adventure Libby dreamed it to be. Not only is she not allowed to use her cell phone, but her fellow Interpretation Intern has it out for her, her roommate is a nerdy smart-alecky obnoxious local reporter, and her chivalrous Mr. Darcy might not be so perfect after all. Oh, and apparently there’s a ghost at Camden Harbor. It seems that this summer is going to be full of surprises.

Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink is a quick and cute summery read. Protagonist Libby is certainly an amusing character to read about. She’s a quirky girl in the sense that she likes both fashion and history, and this combination made for some interesting digressions about the Greek Revival in architecture, when certain articles of clothing went in or out of style in history, and major historical events. However, despite Libby’s vast knowledge of some more interesting aspects of history, she seemed a little dumb otherwise. For example, one of Libby’s small problems is that her uniform short is longer than her longest pair of khaki shorts, making others think she is wearing no pants; instead of getting creative and maybe tucking her shirt into her shorts, Libby just carries on as she has, convinced that this is yet another thing making her summer experience worse. It was little things like this that made me progressively irritated and unsympathetic to Libby’s character. It doesn’t help that the plot is mostly predictable, especially with regards to Libby’s romantic life. Even though the execution of this story could have been much improved, Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink is still a fast, fun read.

Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink may be enjoyed by fans of Past Perfect by Leila Sales and Breakfast at Bloomingdale’s by Kristen Kemp.

Rating: 3.5

Review copy from NetGalley